1FPGA Implementation(s) of a Scalable Encryption Algorithm

Abstract—SEA is a scalable encryption algorithm targeted for small embedded applications. It was initially designed for soft-ware implementations in controllers, smart cards or processors. In this letter, we investigate its performances in recent FPGA devices. For this purpose, a loop architecture of the block cipher is presented. Beyond its low cost performances, a significant advantage of the proposed architecture is its full flexibility for any parameter of the scalable encryption algorithm, taking advantage of generic VHDL coding. The letter also carefully describes the implementation details allowing us to keep small area require-ments. Finally, a comparative performance discussion of SEA with the Advanced Encryption Standard Rijndael and ICEBERG (a cipher purposed for efficient FPGA implementations) is proposed. It illustrates the interest of platform/context-oriented block cipher design and, as far as SEA is concerned, its low area requirements and reasonable efficiency. I